Finance Committee Provides Three Justifications For Allowing The Import Of Used Cars

Finance and Budget Committee of the National People’s Assembly demanded again, during its meeting with the Commerce Minister, Said Djallab, the necessity of licensing the import of used cars less than 5 years instead of 3 years through the Finance Law of 2019, providing 3 justifications, while stipulating to remove the investment base 51-49 that the foreign partner is able financially and with a high turnover.

The Committee’s rationale for the import of used vehicles less than 3 years was that the decision would exclude domestically produced brands from the list of vehicle brands that are included in the new procedure, and would break prices while defending the quality and brand of European fifth-generation used vehicles.

According to a source from the Finance Committee which attended the meeting, on Sunday evening, the MPs insisted during the meeting on the need to increase the number of open years for the import of used cars by two years to move from 3 to 5 years, in order to come up with the desired results of allowing the import of this type of cars, as the Minister justified the decision of the government that it should include the import of used cars vehicles less than 3 years only by fear of turning the national market into an open workshop for importing European scrap vehicles, and to protect the local product and not to make it competitive with imported products.

The MPs responded to the minister that allowing the import of vehicles less than 5 years will not hinder the local product, especially if we know that the used vehicles that enter the market do not have the same brand as the locally produced vehicles, that is, the brands that will be allowed to enter the Algerian market must not be produced in national factories and allowing 5-year cars instead of 3-years will break prices in the national market.

Regarding the quality, MPs explained that locally produced cars in Algeria are the second generation, unlike European cars classified as the fifth generation, which makes importing them even if used for 5 years does not affect quality.

The MPs asked the Commerce Minister to provide explanations about the downfall of the rule 49-51, where the latter responded that the list of sensitive sectors that are not concerned with the removal of the base has not been prepared so far, while MPs insisted that the projection should include only foreign companies that have a strong and high turnover, I.e, Rich and experienced companies that qualify them to hold more than 50% of the shares of any partnership in Algeria.